Hu Tao's confident words drew everyone's eyes.
If she were on Blue Star, she might have debuted as an idol by now—not only was she cute, but she naturally carried an air of amusement.
Truly worthy of being Hu Tao… whether it was her professional skills in the funeral trade or her potential as an idol, both were full marks~
Luya was already imagining taking Hu Tao back to Blue Star one day, producing an album titled "My Oshi is the Hall Master!"
After finishing her boastful speech, Hu Tao pulled out King of the Skull Servants and skillfully slapped it down into her Monster Zone.
Currently, each Duelist had five Monster Zones on the Field. Although there were no Extra Monster Zones provided for Link Summons, for this simple card environment, it was already enough.
Too much complexity would only be troublesome…
When Hu Tao placed King of the Skull Servants in the center of her five Monster Zones, the Duel platform responded instantly, radiating a brief pale green light.
[King of the Skull Servants] Level 1│DARK│Zombie│? ATK / 0 DEF
A chilling wind swept through, accompanied by a shrill, dreadful scream!!!
"Ahhhhhh!!!!"
"Born from the bones of the dead!"
"Battle~ glorious!?"
King of the Skull Servants emerged from a heap of shattered bones!!! The pile crumbled into fragments, dissolving into points of light that merged into its body.
What were once fragile, brittle bones now gleamed with a sinister luster.
Upon appearing, King of the Skull Servants even made a heart gesture toward Hu Tao.
With King of the Skull Servants on the Field, Hu Tao's lips curled higher than ever. Her voice brimmed with confidence, carrying the air of a seasoned Duelist.
"In this Hall Master's Graveyard, there are two Skull Servants. According to the King of the Skull Servants' effect!"
"Its Attack becomes the number of 'King of the Skull Servants' and 'Skull Servant' in the Graveyard × 1000!!!"
"Therefore, King of the Skull Servants' Attack increases by 2000 points!"
Once Hu Tao finished her explanation, the Duel platform updated King of the Skull Servants' Attack, changing the displayed [?] to 2000.
Her explanation made it clear enough that even the late-arriving customers understood.
Still, she wasn't done yet.
Hu Tao kept on saying:
"And then, thanks to this Hall Master's Field Spell Wangsheng Funeral Parlor!"
"Zombie monsters gain an extra 500 Attack!"
"Now, since I successfully Summoned a Zombie monster, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor gains one Exorcism Counter."
"Lost souls, welcome home!"
On the Field, the white little ghosts of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor seemed to hear her call. They turned into light and fused into the skeletal body of King of the Skull Servants.
Its Attack rose from 2000 to 2500! And as its Attack increased, a new tombstone appeared behind Hu Tao.
The sudden gravestone startled her… regardless, she swiftly recovered.
Surely… this was the third effect of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Each time a Zombie monster was Summoned, an Exorcism Counter was placed.
Anyhow, Hu Tao didn't yet know what the counters were for. Presumably, they had to be used with other cards, but she hadn't drawn any yet.
Having successfully Summoned a King of the Skull Servants with 2500 Attack, Hu Tao was bursting with pride.
The feeling of stacking Attack points was exhilarating…
Turning a weak Skull Servant with no real power into a 2500-point bone king! The joy of such growth left Hu Tao intoxicated.
After all, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had earlier shocked the crowd only had 3000 Attack.
And her King of the Skull Servants wasn't far behind.
What's more…
In just one more turn, she could activate Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's effect again, sending the remaining King of the Skull Servants and Skull Servant in her Deck to the Graveyard, boosting its Attack by another 2000.
Reaching 4500—surpassing Blue-Eyes White Dragon's 3000!!!
Having worked out her plan, Hu Tao fiddled with the black butterfly bow on her Taoist-style hexagram hat.
One hand on her hip, she bent down to survey the field, then, with a jump and a laugh, cried out:
"How's that~"
"Isn't this Hall Master amazing!?"
"Haha!!"
Luya gave her a thumbs-up, smiling as he said:
"Hall Master Hu truly has talent. Well played!"
For a beginner, Hu Tao's plays and understanding were indeed impressive. Right from the start, she had pulled off a solid combo.
With her Summon of a 2500-Attack King of the Skull Servants, the spectators erupted, analyzing the situation:
"Wow! Hall Master Hu is incredible!!!"
"She figured out the cards so quickly!"
"To Summon a 2500-point giant skeleton right away, that's awesome!"
"She might even beat the shopkeeper on her very first Duel."
"But if the shopkeeper brings out Blue-Eyes White Dragon, how will she deal with that?!"
"Blue-Eyes has 3000 Attack, while hers only has 2500."
As the audience chattered, Hu Tao moved on with her turn.
She picked up her second King of the Skull Servants and tried to place it onto the Monster Zone.
Abruptly, once she did, a red light flashed across the card. The glow drew a big cross over it, and nothing happened.
Hu Tao's confidence was shattered in an instant, like a kitten yelping when its tail is stepped on. She cried out in panic:
"Ah!?"
"What's going on?!"
"Did this Hall Master's equipment break???"
...
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